Police Ammo In Short Supply

An ammunition shortage is forcing police departments across the state to cancel training sessions, borrow from other departments, and even settle for less-powerful rounds.

``We called a couple of neighboring departments to purchase ammo from them, but they said they didn't have enough,'' said Rocky Hill Police Chief Michael Custer.

Custer recently canceled a training session when he learned that an order of .223-caliber ammunition for M-16 rifles used by some of his officers was on back order for six months.

Connecticut isn't the only state having this problem. From California to the East Coast, police departments are experiencing shipment delays of up to a year for certain types of bullets -- those used by the military in the war in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Law enforcement officials say that they have enough ammunition for duty, but that the shortage is affecting how often they train.

The likely cause seems to be the U.S. military's current demand for small-caliber ammunition, which last year soared to more than 1.5 billion rounds, up from 426 million rounds in 2001, according to the government.

The shortage issue made the front cover of this month's American Police Beat, but the U.S military denies any connection.

``We don't know what's causing the shortage. We don't know how it's related to us, unless there isn't enough copper or lead to make the bullets that we are buying,'' said Steve Abney, spokesman for the Joint Munitions Command at the Rock Island Arsenal in Illinois, which manages, repairs and stores the U.S. Army's arsenal of weapons.

The majority of the small-caliber ammunition used for training and by soldiers in the war on terror is produced at the federal Department of Defense's only small ammunition manufacturing facility, the Lake City Army Ammunition Plant in Independence, Mo.

Brian Grace, a company spokesman for ATK, a Missouri-based weapons manufacturer that has a contract to produce ammunition at the Lake City plant, said the shortage is not related to the company's output. The company operates two other plants that supply both the civilian and law enforcement market.

``We are keeping up with the demand,'' Grace said.

Last year, the Defense Department spent $688 million on ammunition, much of it produced by ATK, Abney said.

Grace blamed the shortage on the increased demand for law enforcement bullets, the increase in the cost of copper, and European suppliers dropping out of the market.

Tom Morris, of the New Jersey-based Eagle Point Gun, which supplies ammunition to several police departments in the state, said there is a nine-month wait for the 55-grain full metal jacket .223-caliber bullet used by the military and police in M-16s.

``The government can't keep up with the demand,'' Morris said. ``If we had another knock-down, drag-out, shoot-'em-all, kill-'em-all kind of war, we wouldn't have enough bullets.''

Cheshire police Officer Jim Nemphos said something is going on.

Nemphos, who heads the department's training unit, borrowed 6,000 .40-caliber bullets from the Waterbury Police Department last month when he learned that a shipment of bullets wouldn't arrive on time for a training session.

``Two years ago we didn't have this problem. Our supplier put an order in the mail the next day. Now it's taking six months,'' he said.

Police are also having a hard time getting .45-caliber and 9mm bullets used in handguns carried on duty.

Wethersfield Police Chief James Cetran said the ammunition backlog has forced some of his officers to train with 50-grain .223-caliber bullets, not the 55-grain full metal jacket bullets that have been hard to get.

``It's not something we like to do, because officers should be trained with the same type of bullet they'll use while on duty,'' Cetran said.

State Police Lt. J. Paul Vance said state police aren't experiencing any delays at the moment.

Nemphos said he is still waiting on his order of .45-caliber bullets that was supposed to arrive early this month.

``When it comes, I can return what I borrowed from Waterbury,'' he said.